Genuine Stardust
by the-wishnatch
Summary: Mordecai's good intentions backfire once again due to Rigby, as well as a defiant, but well-meaning intern. All with big consequences (or is it ONE big little consequence?) for Benson, and possibly the rest of his life..? *-taking place after the series finale, beware of spoilers!-*
1. Rooftop musings and internships

" _Isn't it funny? All these years being surrounded by stars that barely seemed to be any closer to us. But I've never been so happy to look at the stars from this distance again. Get what I mean, dude?"_

" _I hear ya…"_

Weeks had passed since the Park dome was safely returned home; back on Earth. Its inhabitants needed time to re-adjust to their old lives, as some changes turned out more brutal than others. Pops would not be joining them, ever again. Muscle Man was elated to find out he had a small family now. Making sure to properly bond with his daughter, and making up for the missed times with Starla, he decided to take a long, well-deserved vacation.  
Fives seemed to follow suit, as he and Celia went out to explore Europe together, after these three years of separation.  
Benson was pleased to find out his studio appartment was still there, belonging to him. It was amazingly clean and neat too, despite his long absence. Could his pet pig have had something to do with it?  
Rigby and Eileen were about to make things official. And Mordecai? He didn't seem hurried to leave the park just yet.

"Hey, Mordecai?", Rigby began, "Shouldn't you… you know, set out to find a special lady again?"

"Nah", the blue jay replied, "after three years of being without either Margaret or CJ it feels like.. I don't know, dude. Maybe it's just fine this way. Guess I'm better off being on my own."  
He stretched, and went to lay on his back, staring into the star-filled night, on the roof of the house that once belonged to Pops. "What will be will be", he muttered, slightly sarcastic.

Rigby sat upright next to him, shooting him a pained look of disbelief. "You seriously want to be some sort of Benson?"

"What! No!?", Mordecai responded to this insult. "How is that anything like Be-..", he didn't finish this sentence, as he seemed to realize the similarities. At that instant, the two fellows witnessed their boss walking out of the house, heading for his car.

"But, speaking of Benson", he continued in stead, "I don't think he's heard anything from Pam anymore since we got back here".

"Yeah, what's with him and all this bad luck when it comes to women", Rigby chortled.

Something sparkly shot through the sky, catching Mordecai's attention as he went to lie down on his back again, arms behind his head.

"I honestly wish he could be happy for once", Mordecai suddenly spoke out, as he stared at the disappearing trail of sparkles. "I think he needs a special girl in his life.. way more than I do, at least"

"Yeahh! How about a real babe- Ee **OW**!", Rigby clenched his teeth as Mordecai punched his shoulder.

The raccoon was met with an unamused glare.

"Fine", Mordecai sighed, "Let Benson have a 'real babe' then to love unconditionally.. but you better not get jealous, Rigby", he ended with a sneaky smile.

"You think wishing upon shooting stars really works?"

"Nah, probably not"

* * *

" _WishCorp_.", the giant letters read. " _Grandest Grants Guaranteed!"_ , so says the slogan on the side of the huge structure.

"Ughhh, this is lame", a young girl inside the building groaned, as she walked past the many cubicles, serving mugs of coffee.

"I'm not learning anything from this, I _need_ those credits".

Obviously, this youngster was an unappreciated intern for WishCorp., and like so many unappreciated interns, she got to do the crappy chores.  
The black sheep of the family. Or company, in this case. Quite literally too; she was a short-build, dark furred sheepgirl. A wooly afro added about 15 inches to her total length. Both sides of her head featured an impressive horn, curling around her ears. _"Hi. My name is Avery",_ said the paper name tag on her chest.

Her colleagues' computer screens were showing recordings of people from all over the world, wishing upon stars that fell at just the right moment.

"Yeah, don't we ALL want to win the lottery?", one guy at his computer hooted. "Not today, buddy!" and he clicked "deny".

"Rude…", the girl thought to herself, walking past.

" _I honestly wish he could be happy for once_ " she caught coming from a currently unmanned cubicle.  
She couldn't help but walk back and watch; " _I think he needs a special girl in his li- *_ _ **buzzzz**_ _*  
_ The screen seemed to have trouble processing the imagery. _  
Yeah! How about a_ _ ***buzzz***_ _babe-EE *_ _ **bzzzz**_ _*_

 _Fine, let Benson have a- *_ _ **buzzz**_ _* babe to love unconditionally"_.

The intern's eyes widened with glee. This has got to be the cutest wish she's ever heard, so altruistic. Maybe, if she took this matter in her own hands, she could finally get those required credits _and_ make somebody happy as well.  
Shifting her eyes, her hand went for the mouse and clicked " _GRANT_ ". " _Please specify_ " appeared on the screen, and she rapidly typed something in; the things she heard the glitchy blue jay and raccoon from the video footage say.. or so she thought. She then clicked " _CONFIRM_ " in conclusion.

A radiant capsule popped out of the large device beside her, which she snuck into her pocket.

"This is gonna be SWEET!" she gushed to herself, as she made haste.

* * *

Back at the park, Rigby and Mordecai had left the rooftop and were bidding one another goodbye. Just as Rigby was about to walk out the door, said door was slammed open by an overly enthusiastic young ewe.

"WHAT THE-?!" Mordecai called out in surprise.

"Who are you?!"Rigby followed, rubbing his face where the door had hit him.

"Hiiii!", the girl cheered, "You two must be Mordecai and Rigby, correct? I overheard you making a wish and OH MY GOSH, I am absolutely smitten, so here I am!"

The raccoon and the blue jay stared silently at the girl in front of them. Rigby tilted his head.

"Sooo, are _you_ the special girl Mordecai wished for..?"

"HA HA HA, good heavens, no! I'm an intern at-" she stopped right there, then corrected herself. "Uh, I work for WishCorp. and like I said, I overheard your wish for that Mr. Benson guy, so I got here as fast as I could to grant it!"

Mordecai and Rigby looked at eachother, then back at Avery. They didn't question what was going on at all.

"Awesome!", the jaybird exclaimed.

"That's what I thought!", the girl said with a nod, "So, if you guys wanna sign your names here, I can make things in order and mr. Benson will know he has some wonderful friends looking out for him!", she winked while speaking those words.

"We're gonna get the biggest raise!" Rigby chanted, scribbling his name on the card presented to him.


	2. Open carefully

"Good morning, Apple Sauce." 

Benson yawned while pouring himself fresh coffee. Another day, another park meeting coming up. Same old. Yet after those 3 years in space, this felt oddly comforting now. Though he'd often feel a heart ache, standing in front of the park mansion, and no longer finding Pops sitting on the steps among his employees.  
About to sink in his thoughts, Benson jumped up at the sudden ring coming from the doorbell. 

"Special delivery for Mr. Dunwoody?" the courier questioned. A sleek stork-woman held out a clipboard towards Benson. He certainly didn't remember having ordered anything recently.  
A large package was shoved through the doorway. His eyes caught the postcard stuck on top of the box. 

"Mordecai and Rigby, huh?", a careful smile of surprise appeared on Benson's face.

He swiftly dug through the many packing peanuts, but his smile graduately turned to a frown as he pulled out one item after the other.

"Diapers? … Baby wipes?… Whatever this thing is?!" he growled, holding up something he may have seen Muscle Man wearing before, to carry Rigby around.

"What kind of stunt are they pulling this time?! Shouldn't they have long grown out of this bu-.. what's this then?", before an expletive escaped his lips, his eyes were drawn to a brightly glowing object, hidden among the packing peanuts in a small crib. 

The contents of the tiny vessel sparkled as if filled with stars. _100% genuine stardust. Open carefully_ , was read on the capsule. 

"Open carefully?", Benson wondered, twisting both halves. "But what am I supposed to do with-.." 

He rubbed the so-called stardust carefully between two fingers; it felt smooth and powder-like to touch.

Suddenly, the mysterious substance started reacting fiercely. Caught off guard, Benson froze as a radiant cloud emerged and seemed to shapeshift in his hands.  
He could only let out a terrified whimper, extending his arms as far as he could and averting his eyes from the almost blinding glow. 

When he looked again, he found a tiny gumball machine baby in his hands, slowly opening its eyes and gently yawning. Its body more of a short cone-shape, magenta colored and a matching "cap" with what seemed to be a little bow on top. It let out a cheerful coo as it locked eyes with Benson's.  
Benson however, could only stare and stutter. After a few awkward seconds he slowly lowered the small creature to the floor, placing it on its back. It happily kicked its tiny stilt-legs in the air, cooing at the mortified gumball machine. 

Backing away slowly, Benson found his way out the door, then bolted down the stairs and into the street. 

The names of Mordecai and Rigby could be heard within a half-mile radius.


	3. Benson was pregnant?

Skips, Mordecai and Rigby had been waiting impatiently for their boss. It didn't often happen that they were all present before he was. At last they saw a familiar car approaching. They also noticed the driver's face not exactly expressing a joyful mood.

"Dude, what took you?" Mordecai asked as Benson got out. No answer. Benson silently walked to one of his car's backdoors, opening it.  
The crew watched in anticipation, what could he be doing? Snapping and clicking sounds were heard. It seemed as though Benson strapped something around his waist, and finally, he turned around.

A highly unamused face stared at the park crew, and below that, another smaller, but adorably cheerful face did too. The three park workers stared back in utter amazement, but two of them responded with amusement.

"Benson! I had no idea!" Skips said with a wide smile.

"Dude! Congratulations!" Mordecai added.

But Rigby could only gaze in shock and disbelief. "Benson was pregnant?"

"Care to explain THIS?" the red-faced gumball machine demanded, pointing at the baby girl dangling in front of his stomach.

"Uhhh.. You're asking us? To explain.. that?" Mordecai responded nervously.

"Seriously, Benson?" Rigby chimed in, "You've never had ' _the Talk_ '?"

"THAT'S NOT..-" Benson lowered his voice, as to not startle his small bundle of joy. "That's not what I'm talking about" he grunted through his teeth. He angrily took out a postcard and held it in front of the two youngest park workers' faces.

"Oh yeah! We wrote that last night, when that weird wish-chick showed up", Rigby said.

"But dude! We didn't wish for a baby!", Mordecai followed, "We wished for a special girl to bring you some joy in life, but we meant something.. more mature..?"

"… is it because I mentioned ' _a babe_ ' ?" Rigby suddenly wondered out loud.

Benson's face shifted. "Could you guys _not_ interfere with my private life, ever?! Could you just NOT?! Look at this! I barely _like_ kids, I have _no time_ to raise a kid. I'M A BUSY MAN!"

The baby happily flailed her arms around, seemingly not impressed by the loud noises coming from her carrier.

"That doesn't have to be a problem. Bring the little one along every day. I'm sure the guys will gladly help out. Don't we, fellas?" Skips glanced at his two co-workers.

"Sure, dude! How hard can it be?", the blue colleague responded.

"Every day _bring-your-daughter-to-work-day_!" Rigby and Mordecai cajoled in unison.

"Sh-she's not my daughter..", Benson protested, his face now red with a modest blush, rather than anger.

"But she _is_ , Benson!" Skips assured him. "A wish, eh? Stardust, perhaps?" The yeti seemed to already know precisely what had occured.  
"I actually _haven't_ seen this before, but something happened once you touched the stardust, am I right? So this little child was formed, carrying _your_ genetic blueprint!"

Benson froze. A harsh realisation struck.

"I uh…", he stammered, "I'm gonna need to let this sink in…". With a blank stare he walked past his employees onto the steps, into the house, leaving the crew watching.

Two seconds later the door opened again. A long grey arm dropped the carrying bag -baby included- into Skips' arms, and the door closed once more.

* * *

The day passed, and while Benson had been mostly avoiding his surprise offspring, Skips and Mordecai seemed quite enamored with the little girl. Rigby didn't want to admit it yet. All three had been taking turns carrying the mini gumball machine around while doing their chores. It would seem she had quite a positive effect on their morale. Especially the playground looked cleaner than usual, at the end of the day. Even the surrounding grass had been made pebble- and shard-free, for the first time ever.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Benson?" Mordecai shouted at his boss, waving the tiny bundle playfully over his head.  
Benson was just about to get into his car, then grouchily walked toward the blue jay and took the infant from his hands. Reluctantly he placed her on the backseat and drove off.

* * *

"How hard can it be…" Benson repeated Mordecai's words from earlier.

Gently, he placed the napping child into the small crib that was delivered along with the other necessities that morning, not quite noticing the curmudgeoned look on her face.

He had barely turned around, when an eardrum-shattering screeching arose from the crib.

"Oooh, shoot..", Benson uttered, pacing back and forth in a mild panic.

He lifted the little one out of its bed, but now what? What could this noisy thing possibly need right now?  
If only he knew someone... Usually Muscle Man would be around to say "I know a guy..".  
But, that's it! Muscle Man! He even has a child of his own now, Benson remembered. He reached for his phone and dialed Muscle Man's number.

"Come on, come on, come on!", he whimpered, leaving the crying infant on his bed as he walked into a slightly more quiet room. How he was going to explain the ordeal was another concern.

" _What_ ", a disgruntled voice sounded.

"Muscle Man? It's Benson. I'm gonna need your … Um.. I was wondering… Do you know anything about-"

" _Babies?_ " the voice on the other side grumbled.

"How do you kno-.. YES! NO! I mean, what makes you think so?"

" _Listen, bro. I'm trying to have a wholesome vacation with the family. Those other losers have been pestering me all day too with their weirdo baby-questions. What's up with that_?!" Muscle Man scowled into the phone.

"They have?", Benson softly wondered.

" _Just let me enjoy my family quality time IN PEACE!_ ", the call ended.

Benson's heart sank. He had no idea how to handle this all by himself. Never before had he felt this helpless. He felt about to burst into tears with frustration. But then he noticed the screaming had ceased, and he rushed to his bedroom.

"Apple Sauce?!", he marveled, as he watched his pet pig holding up a bottle in his mouth, and the baby girl contently suckling. Was she also wearing a new diaper now?

He silently observed the two for a few seconds, then snapped out of it.

'I… I'll take it from here, Apple Sauce"

* * *

"At least she's quiet now..", he pondered, shuffling through the livingroom, carrying his miraculous offspring.  
He felt half relieved, half miserable, knowing the silence wouldn't last. Why him? He never asked for this.  
Being a parent was not on his bucketlist either. And especially now that he was well into his forties, he had already concluded it was never going to happen, which he had been more than okay with.

Standing by the window, baby still enjoying her bottle, Benson cheerlessly looked up at the glistening stars. One might think he was wondering whether he could send the newborn back up there. Did he really want that though? He glanced down at the -by now satiated- little creature in his arms. The stars reflected on her crystalline face.

There was a nudge at his legs. Apple Sauce called for his owner's attention, carrying something in his mouth.

"What do you have there?" Benson took a booklet from the pig's mouth. It must have come with the giant package of baby necessities. " _Your baby and you"_ the booklet said. Benson cringed, but quickly realized this might come in handy.

Sadly for the unwilling new dad, as the night progressed, he would soon realize the booklet was not a manual.  
And one does not simply turn a screaming baby off.


	4. World's Best Dad

Next morning, the three park workers were met with a broken-looking boss. The baby girl hanging in front of his stomach was looking just peachy.

"Any questions?", Benson asked after finishing the usual read off his clipboard, half yawning and nid-nodding his head. Rigby raised a hand.

"What's her name?"

"Uh… name?"

"Your baby! What did you name her?"

A name? Benson hadn't considered that. It had been difficult enough for him to accept he now had an unexpected child to look after, and now she needed a name too? That would make things a little too… official.

"Gotta think of a name for ya Bendaughter!" Mordecai chanted.

"Just name her after the _coolest_ person you know! _Rigby Junior_!-OW!", the raccoon received another punch.

"Ben….-edicta!",

"Olivia!", "Bethany?", "Angela", "Pamela", "Sandra", "Rita", Mordecai and Rigby took turns blurting out random names.

"Carrie", Skips concurred with a grin.

"Enough, you guys!" Benson responded in annoyance. "She's _my_ kid, so it's up to ME!".

For a second he seemed taken aback by what he just said, and an awkward blush appeared on his cheeks. With no further words he headed for his office.

"At least he's keeping the baby with him this time.." Skips noticed.

"You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Mordecai hinted, and soon the three were scheming something.

* * *

Meanwhile in the office, Benson tried his hardest not to fall asleep on the job. How he envied his tiny female copy, peacefully napping in the baby seat he had parked on his desk. And here he was; painstakingly trying to keep his head up, reading one official form after another, before signing them with his name. The words went right through him, his signature was sometimes barely readable. The one he tried to read -and more importantly, _comprehend_ \- now, before filling out had WishCorp's logo on it. That was all he could still recognize through his tiredly squinted eyes.

Who knew how many hours of sleep he had had the night before?  
Hours? Plural? Was it even more than one? To him it felt like he had been spending the entire night perusing ' _Your baby and you'_. Looking for the answer that would shut up a wailing infant. He had only fallen asleep after figuring out this baby _would_ sleep on quietly with some affection. In this case, having her crib moved right next to Benson's bed, so that Benson could keep one arm right beside her face, for her to cling to and feel safe.

That was almost kind of cute, he thought to himself, thinking back on that part of last night's ordeal. Almost...

A soft yawn suddenly drew his attention; baby was awake.  
Fortunately she did not greet him with tears and screeching this time. On the contrary; she let out her happy coos again, and playfully reached for her tired parent.

"Well! I see one of us did get proper sleep...", Benson said awkwardly.

The baby gave him a questioning look.

"Yes, you! Smartie-pants... diaper... smartie-diaper...", he mumbled, pointing at the baby's face, poking her little triangular nose in the process.

The face she made in response made Benson snicker.  
He was actually snickering? In amusement? Maybe he was finally mellowing after all.

Dangling his car keys over the infant's head and having a one-sided conversation, Benson couldn't help but smile at the little one's dinky reactions.  
But her little laugh as he gently tickled one of her tiny feet made his eyes sparkle.

"Guess I'm really going to have to think up a name for you now, little Dunwoody", he felt a warm rush in his chest saying those words.

"But first.. let's get us both some lunch." He lifted the baby out of her seat and carried her downstairs.

Entering the first floor, Benson blinked in amazement at the sight before him; Pink everywhere. Pink flags, pink garlands, pink balloons reading "it's a girl!" and "congratulations!". There is a cake as well, with Benson's name on it, but does it say "congratulations" or "sorry" at the top?

"Our Benson's been promoted to BenDAD!" Mordecai raved. Benson's face turned red with embarrassment, but he couldn't hide the -somewhat awkward- smile on his face.

"You guys…"

What followed was a cheesy, if not adorable, guys-baby-shower, only one girl allowed for this time.  
Presents were unwrapped, cake was eaten, silly pictures taken. Rigby had taken the liberty to write "DAD" over the word "boss" on Benson's mug. Were all the mug stores out of "World's best dad"-mugs, or had he simply been too lazy to go out and buy a new mug? One might never know.  
The park workers seemed incredibly fond of the latest addition. What about Benson though? Looking at some of the freshly shot polaroids, one would have sensed legitimate paternal pride in him.

"Fives and Muscle Man don't know what they're missing out on!", Rigby jested.

* * *

As time passed, the star of the party was getting drowsy. Her parent wisely decided to take her upstairs for a peaceful nap.

Suddenly the front door swung open and the party animals saw a young sheepgirl standing there.

"Hey, isn't that the wish-chick?", Rigby remarked.

Her face expressed seriousness.

"I've made a huge mistake", Avery spoke. "I realised you guys actually wished for a _girlfriend_ for mister Benson! But ah.. fear not! I can still undo this!"

"Undo? Why would you undo it? Benson is happy with this wish too!" Mordecai and Rigby replied.

"Is that so?", the intern queried, "Then why doesn't the kid have a name yet?". She held up a small screen, showing an unsigned birth certificate. The boys couldn't answer this.

As Benson walked out of his office, he heard the commotion coming from downstairs. Was this about him?

The intern continued. "Whatever the case, consider this officially UNDONE!", and she pressed the screen.  
The office brightly lit up for a second, and Benson, turning his head and instantly feeling the dread, anxiously rushed back up the stairs.

What did you do?!", Mordecai gasped. Before she could answer, the three parkworkers ran up the stairs, after Benson.

"Pshaw", Avery sighed, and she calmly left.

* * *

The park crew found Benson standing silently in his office, his back turned towards them.

"Benson?"

He turned around, holding the soft blanket his child was swaddled in earlier. A couple of twinkles fluttered down to the ground and dissolved into nothing. Looks of disbelief, terror and sorrow were exchanged.

The blanky was dropped.

A miserable voice finally spoke.

"Clean up, guys… Party's over…"


	5. Space Sequoia

Not a trace was left of the party from earlier that day, and three remaining faces wore the same forlorn expression.

"Well… should we let Benson know we've cleaned everything up?" Rigby broke the silence.

"I don't think he's gonna care about _that_ now, Riggs"

"Let's check up on him at least", Skips concluded.

Benson hadn't left his office anymore since the earlier incident. He just stood there, vacantly looking out the window, into the early evening sky.

"Benson?", Skips began, "We're really sorry about what happened".

"Is there anything we can do for you, buddy?", Mordecai added.

Not turning around, Benson heaved a sigh. "Guys, it's fine.. it's okay".  
His employees looked up in surprise at this response.

"It was a mistake after all. It was never meant to happen, remember?" No reaction from the crew.  
He slowly lowered his head then, and something could be seen held in his hand.

"But you know…", he suddenly continued, "I would have loved her in the end, I really would."

The object in his hand appeared to be one of the goofy polaroids that were taken during the party.  
"More than I've ever loved anybody…", his voice cracked.

The crew members could tell their boss could not hold back his tears, so Skips quietly guided them out the office.

"You gotta get her back, guys!" Skips demanded as they walked down the hallway.

"Get her back? From where?", the two youngsters asked, surprised this was even an option, apparently.

"I can't tell for sure, but it might not be too late yet. She could still be somewhere in the WishCorp. depot, before.. she'll be reduced back into stardust." Mordecai and Rigby shuddered at that thought.

"But where _is_ WishCorp. located to begin with?"

* * *

"… _\- and the latest developments in regards to Space Sequoia!",_ the tv in the livingroom blared. Del Hanlon informed the viewers of the latest project, meant to connect good old Space Tree to an additional base directly on Earth. Surely this would roughly take a couple of decades, but the foot end of it was coming together just great. In fact, Space Sequoia Mall had been opened to public just now! Margaret was reporting on the spot, not only showcasing the gargantuan size of the construction, but also mentioning names of stores and companies partaking in the project. Each and everyone to be featured in a series of interviews with the journalist cardinal bird. And low and behold; today's interview would be with the CEO of "WishCorp.".  
Skips gave a meaningful look at the boys as he turned the tv off.

Once they stood outside, Skips pointed a finger into a certain direction. Looking in that direction, the blue jay and the raccoon widened their eyes in awe as they saw the gigantic pedestal of the to-be Space Sequoia looming in the distance, its top half disappearing into the clouds. Was that always right there?  
They hopped onto the cart and headed for the ludicrous work-in-progress.

* * *

"Uuuughh, how are we ever going to find the depot in this place?!" Mordecai groaned, eyeing the immense ground plan and the hundreds, if not thousands of company names with their respective floors and areas.

Rigby looked up, and up, and up, to the point of falling backward.

"This is hopeless!", he whined along.

While he stared into oblivion upside-down, he thought he recognized a certain someone. Swiftly turning right side up, he called for his friend.

"Mordecai! Isn't that the wish-kid?!", he pointed.

And right he was. The lamb walked, or rather, stumbled out of a fancy-looking coffee bar, balancing multiple trays with stacks of coffee cups, most likely filled too.  
The boys immediately ran towards her.

"What did you do to Benson's baby?! Where did you leave her?!"

"Don't hurt me!", the girl screeched, quickly raising the trays of coffee in front of her face for protection.  
"I don't have her! I, uh.. I only sent her back to the depot, before anyone would notice what I had done!", she cowered. "I'm so sorry, I was just afraid of getting expelled and failing my internship, and.. and..", she grossly sobbed.

Mordecai and Rigby relaxed their tensed up bodies and seemed to feel sorry for her.

"But you know what?", she suddenly changed her tone. "Screw those guys, not like they would respect me or anything… Look at all this coffee they just ordered _me_ to get for them, all the way down here!"

She snorted, before adamantly stating she was going to help the guys out. The two buds were pleasantly surprised with this new ally.

"Right this way!"

* * *

It was a long, very long elevator-ride up to reach WishCorp. While they were letting the elevator carry them to the right floor, Avery rebeliously took a swig from one of the coffee cups she had brought along, meant for her colleagues.

"Good stuff!" she deduced. "Here!" She handed her travelmates a cup each too. "It's gonna be luke-warm by the time we're there anyway..."

"Thanks! … 'A very'?", Rigby tried to read the sheep's name tag.

"Avery", she corrected him, toasting her coffee cup against his.

WishCorp. appeared to be located near the current top of Space Sequoia, for now at least. The unmanned cranes and scaffolds indicated there was much more to come.  
The boys got some Space Tree vibes from this environment, being surrounded by infinite darkness and stars again.

"We're here!", the sheep intern exclaimed, opening the doors to the depot.

Mordecai and Rigby were bewildered by the things they saw in there. Some sort of star-filled, luminating screen kept all objects in place. Objects that were not meant to exist, and therefor returned to the depot.  
But would they find Benson's child among them too?

"Dude! Check this out!", Rigby suddenly cried.

"Did you find her?", Mordecai looked up in suspense.

"No, but look at this thing! That's something _I_ could have wished for when I was young and stupid!"

Rigby almost drooled at the sight of some remarkably bizarre vehicle. It looked as though someone had mashed up a jet ski with a miniature Concorde into something out of this world.

"That's not what we're here for!", Mordecai growled.

Yet Rigby couldn't resist reaching for the wondrous vehicle... but he yelped in dread as his arms seemed to morph like some glitched up video game render. It also gave him the mighty unpleasant feeling of his limbs falling asleep, so he quickly pulled them back.  
The jaybird then dragged him along, there was no time for this.

"There she is!", Mordecai eventually gasped, pointing upwards. The tiny gumball child floated dormantly in suspended animation behind the mysterious screen.

"I'll boost you, and you get her out of there, okay?", Mordecai suggested.

Rigby was not eager at all to do this, remembering what the screen did to his arms earlier.

"Dude! Don't be such a baby and grab her already!", Mordecai impatiently got hold of the raccoon and lifted him over his head.

Rigby let out multiple whimpers of discomfort as he, once again, stuck his arms into the starry film and gripped the baby. He turned his head away, not having to look at the horrible morphing his arms underwent while inside the screen. But he succeeded.  
The little girl blinked as she was released from her suspended animation-prison. Recognizing her uncles, she happily started to coo.

"Rigby Junior!", Rigby cheered, cuddling the retrieved infant.

"Yeah, you wish!", Mordecai responded sarcastically, yanking the child out of the raccoon's hands.  
"Let's savely return you to your daddy!", he talked to the child in his doting-uncle voice.

That was almost too easy…


	6. Her name is

Avery anxiously waited outside of the depot. She was relieved to see the boys return with the baby they had come for.

"I forgot to tell you", she elaborated, "she needs a name in order to permanently exist! At this point she's basically still not meant to be…", the girl sweated nervously, shifting her eyes left and right as though she expected Hell to break loose.

"Alright! Let's give her a name then!" Mordecai said.

"All in favor of Rigby Junior, raise your hand!", a lonely raccoon arm extended upwards.

"Not you!", the intern protested, "Only her true parent can name her!"

"So, we gotta get back to Benson right a-", Mordecai was suddenly interrupted by the sound of alarm horns.

"…-way?"

The entrance to the elevator was immediately blocked off by lowered steel bars, to assure no intruders could escape.  
Panicked, the three made a run for it, hoping to find another way out on the massive terrain.

"Rigby! Where are you going?!", Mordecai saw his friend turning around and heading for where they had come from.  
"What the-..?!", the bird turned his head again and nearly tripped, trying to halt his sprint in horror. He pressed the baby girl close to his chest. What was in front of him could be described as a gigantic, translucent, sparkling serpent. It dragged its massive elongated body over the scope, feeding on multiple conviscated wished-for items.

"M-Mordecai", Avery whispered fearfully, "Don't let it get the baby… If she's devoured, it's over.."

It dawned onto Mordecai; this is what Skips must have meant when he talked about the baby getting reduced, back into stardust.  
Having had her face covered by Mordecai's wings, the baby let out a high-pitched squeal of terror as she laid eyes on the destructive creature.  
It immediately reared its head, showing no eyes, just a huge gaping maw. And it knew there was prey nearby.

The jaybird started running as the beast extended its head in his direction. But where could he run to? The only way out was sealed off, did he have to outright _jump off_ the premises?

"Mordecai! Hop on!", he suddenly recognized his best friend's voice.

Rigby flew toward the jay and his precious cargo, riding the otherwordly vehicle he had managed to obtain from the depot.  
Swiftly shoving the baby into Rigby's arms and pushing him to the back, Mordecai grabbed the handlebar and raced the three away from the snake.

"HEY! I was driving that!", Rigby uttered in outrage.

With no time to think things through, Mordecai drove the absurd-yet-effective vehicle over the edge of the terrain… and they soared towards the Earth below.

"Good luck, guys...", Avery softly spoke from a distance.

Unfortunately for the trio, the giant raging serpent could soar as well, and it was still coming after them.

"Rigby! Call Benson! He has to name the baby NOW!", Mordecai directed his passenger.

Searching for his cellphone with one arm while holding the baby with the other, and trying not to slide off the vehicle, Rigby had to deduce he had no phone on him.

"Uhh.. I left it in the park!", he said almost tearfully.

"Are you kidding me?!", Mordecai jeered at him, quickly reaching for his own phone while swerving to avoid the chomping maw. He almost violantly handed the phone to Rigby.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the office at Pop's house, Mordecai's name lit up on the screen of Benson's phone.  
Resting his bereaved face in his hands, Benson shot a quick look at his phone, then pressed "decline".

"Aren't you gonna answer it?", Skips responded in surprise, sitting opposite of his boss.

"I'm in no mood to talk..", Benson sighed.

But Skips had an unsettling feeling this was really important.  
The phone beeped again. This time indicating a text message had been send. Skips snatched the cellphone off of Benson's desk.  
" _Benzine pickaxe your phosphor_ ", it read. He raised an eyebrow. Next thing, a photo was received.

"Benson! You have got to see this!", the yeti shouted, returning the phone to his boss.

The picture revealed Rigby's blurry face, obviously in distress. A large, bright , unidentified thing was closely behind him. And in the lower-right corner, a glimpse of… his little girl?  
As Benson's eyes widened in shock, a bright flash suddenly shone through the office windows.  
Turning their heads toward the glass, the yeti and the gumball machine witnessed some sort of giant shimmering serpent in the sky, heading their way. And right in front of that were Mordecai and Rigby, swerving and zigzagging for dear life.  
The cellphone rang again while Skips and Benson ran out of the house, toward the spectacle.

"GIVE HER A NAME, BENSON!", Rigby screamed on the other side.

But Benson still didn't know. He stuttered and hesitated as he watched the terrifying game of cat-and-mouse.

"NOW, BENSON! IT'S THE ONLY W-..", Rigby failed to finish his sentence as a sudden jerk at the vehicle made the baby slip out of his one armed clutch. "RIGBY JUNIOR!", the raccoon hollered in terror, as the child plummeted toward the ground below. The serpent glided right after her, its mouth wide open.

Benson's mouth dropped, and he rushed for the spot where the child would hit the ground.  
As if something supernatural took hold of him, he accelerated evermore.

"Stella!", he shouted at the small being crashing down.

He took a leap, and suddenly found himself being launched toward his child.

"Her name is Stella!", he exclaimed as he clutched the scared little gumball child and tightly pressed her against his body. Turning his body and infant away from the serpent, he furiously glared at the glistening behemoth, before finishing his words.

"And she's _my daughter_!"

The beast spontaneously bursted into dust, no longer able to do harm. The sheer force of the surge, however, propelled the father and daughter through the air, before gravity pulled them down.  
As though time was frozen in that instant, Benson managed to re-adjust his position.

And then he hit the ground…

* * *

A cloud of dust rose up where the park manager had crashed into the soil.  
Miraculously, Benson was seen hunched over on one knee, child in his arms. He carefully opened his eyes, taking in what had happened.  
The baby girl was still tightly pressed to his body, whimpering softly. Benson loosened up, holding the crying child below his face.

"Stella..", he soothed her, "Don't cry, little one. I've got you", he gently wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. She then opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Daddy's got you now..", he sobbed, as well as expressing tenderness.

As though his now-named daughter perfectly understood him, her eyes sparkled for a second. She pressed her face into his chest, clasping her father tightly, softly cooing in relief and solace.

Benson tried getting on his feet, but the earlier impact had caused a little more damage than it first seemed.  
Falling backward, emotions took over. He laughed, he guffawed and tears of bliss trickled down his face, while embracing his regained daughter in the warmest, loving fashion, like fathers do. 

"Benson!", three distressed voices called out, rushing toward the duo.

"Thank goodness!", Skips said, deducing the two were fine.

"Dude! Are you okay?" Mordecai and Rigby asked in sympathy.

Benson, still on his back, very slowly raised one quivering arm with his thumb up, smiling widely.

"I'm in a world of pain…", he moaned, while Stella contently clung to his chest.


	7. You wish

**Author's Note:** This story is currently being comic-fied! Over 30 pages have been illustrated already and can be found on Tumblr, _genuine-stardust_ (since FF doesn't like urls, just add this to any Tumbl adress BD)

* * *

Back in Pop's house, the baby-shower recommenced. Benson lied on the couch, still battered and getting his wounds treated by Skips. Rigby was happy to find there was still cake left. Mordecai handled the baby.

"Stella, huh?", he gently swung the little gumball machine in his extended arms, "Hello, widdle Stella. I'm your uncle Mordecai!", he cheeped at the amused newborn.

Rigby chimed in.

"Your uncles Mordecai and Rigby wished you into existence, that kinda makes us your daddies too!"

Benson made a face of disgust. "I don't think so!"

Skips grinned at this, as Mordecai reunited the child with her mangled father.

"But seriously, guys?", the park manager began, "I don't know how I could ever thank you for this, for everything... for _her_. Whatever I've said yesterday… I'm glad to have her here with me."

Cuddling his warmly wrapped up baby girl, he added, "She's definitely the most special girl in my life".

Without warning, the front door then swung open.

"Missed me, losers?", Muscle Man stood at the entrance, donning sunglasses and sweaty holiday garment.

"Hey hey! It's Muscle Man! You missed out on something, dude!" Rigby quickly stuffed the last slice of cake in his mouth.

Mitch got a most dumbfounded expression on his face as he suddenly noticed the pink flags, pink balloons and pink garlands filling up the living room.  
His eyes then fell on an exhausted looking Benson, cradling a newborn baby on the couch.  
At that point he was reminded of the strange phone calls his colleagues had harrassed him with the other day.

Simply gobsmacked, he finally got the question out; "Benson was pregnant?!"

* * *

"You know, I thought things could never be this crazy again after the time we've spend in space, but today was wild!", Mordecai spoke to Rigby, as the two witnessed Benson leaving with his pride and joy, getting a ride home from Skips.

"Yeah, I wonder what Eileen will say about this…" Rigby fiddled with his cellphone which he had finally found back, there were multiple missed calls from his fiancée.

"Sooo… you sure you're not jealous of Benson's new babe, Riggs?", Mordecai teased.

"Nuh-uh! I mean, she's cute and all, but I'm glad not to be in Benson's place right now! Sleepless nights and dirty diapers, not for the Rigbone!", he gestured and looked back at his phone, which played the tune of a newly received message.

It was then that Mordecai noticed his best bud's eyes growing large and his mouth slowly gaping.

"What is it?"

Rigby held the phone up to Mordecai, it displayed a photo of Eileen wearing a big smile, holding up… a positive pregnancy test.

"OOOOOH! Sleepless nights and dirty diapers for the Rigbone!", Mordecai raved.

"Stop talking!", the raccoon weakly punched the jaybird, while grinning goofily.

"Congrats with Rigby Junior, dude!" Dropping to his knees, Mordecai bearhugged Rigby.

"Thanks, bro…", the dad-to-be squeaked.

And what about WishCorp's rebelious intern?  
Well, let's say that, when she was making sure to erase every trace of today's events, she came across security cam-footage of Mordo and Riggs, releasing baby Stella from the depot.

" _Rigby Junior!_ ", was heard on screen, showing Rigby happily hugging the kid.

" _Yeah, you wish!_ "

The little sheep grinned mischievously, moving the mouse and clicking.  
It would seem she really liked handing out babies to people…


End file.
